Akufo-Addo's Anti-Corruption Efforts Insufficient - Denmark Ambassador
Ghana's fight against corruption remains a significant challenge, despite President Nana Akufo-Addo's campaign promises to tackle the issue.
According to Denmark Ambassador to Ghana, Tom Norring, the President's efforts to battle corruption have been insufficient.
In an interview with Lead News' Florence Kyei on December 3, Ambassador Norring acknowledged that President Akufo-Addo has strengthened some institutions to combat corruption. However, he emphasized that corruption remains a deep-seated problem in Ghana, as it is in many other African countries.
Ambassador Norring noted that fighting corruption is not just about making promises, but also about dealing with the harsh realities of a tradition that has been ingrained in Ghanaian society for many years.
He expressed hope that the current election campaign would focus more on political issues and goals, rather than just making promises.
''Akufo-Addo is a true defender in his speeches of democracy, good governance, human rights and also came to power with a very clear signal that one of the things he wanted to do was to battle corruption. I think it has not happened. He has created and also strengthened in some ways some of the institutions that are to be in place in order to be able to fight corruption,'' he stated.
''But I don't think corruption has been eliminated by far. I don't think Ghana stands out there more than the other 53 African countries on my back now. But I think the problem is that most African countries are battling with corruption and Ghana is still battling with corruption. There's also what happens when you are in office.
''It's sometimes not so easy to carry out your campaign promises well. I think that's a universal issue for most politicians that once they're in office, you also have to deal with a lot of other realities and battling corruption, fighting corruption is also fighting a tradition of many, many years. It is ingrained in the people, in the institutions and in the private sector.''
''So unfortunately what I would say is that, and I will not say any more about that because it does get quite political, but I would really, I would really hope and also I would really have hoped in the current direction campaign that there was more focus on political issues, political goals,'' he added.
Ghana's corruption challenges are well-documented. The country has been ranked poorly in various corruption perception indexes, including the Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
Despite some progress in strengthening institutions, corruption remains a major obstacle to Ghana's development.
Source: Florence Kyei / Lead News Online
